Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Ann Patchett essay in The Atlantic

EXCERPT:

"And then there’s this: if my house were burning down, the one thing I’d rush in to save would be my copy of The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty, which I had signed at the first author reading I ever attended, the year that I was 16 and the author was 70. I could discourse endlessly on why my books are in no way improved by my signature, and my words are just the same on the page whether or not I’ve read them aloud. And while I know better than anyone that I am no Eudora Welty, I know how profoundly I was shaken to see her, how I felt that my book had been transformed by the touch of her hands."

--- Ann Patchett

The December 2008 Atlantic has an excellent essay by Ann Patchett on book tours.

About Me

Helen Gallagher is a national speaker and publishing consultant. Today, her thriving consulting practice is augmented by her writing on business and technology, with over 100 articles in major business and trade publications.
Just for fun, to celebrate ten years in business, Helen wrote her first book: "Computer Ease," selected by Forbes.com Book Club, and winner of a non-fiction award from the Illinois Women's Press Association (IWPA) in 2006. Helen is a contributor to Lonely Planet's Travelers Tales book, "The World is a Kitchen". Her essay won the IWPA award in 2007. Her 2007 book "Release Your Writing: Book Publishing Your Way" helps writers find the path to their dream of getting published. "Release Your Writing" is a USA Book News Award finalist. Helen's newest book "Blog Power & Social Media Handbook" hit store shelves in August 2010.
Helen's freelance writing appears in national magazines and numerous online sites. She is also a book reviewer for BlogCritics Magazine, OpenSalon.com and New York Journal of Books.
Helen supports organizations that support writers: member of ASJA, IWWG, OCWW, MWA, SPAWN.ORG